PRESS DIGEST- Canada - Sept 8

Sept 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has been probing a Canadian-owned company for more than three months over its sales of armored vehicles to war-torn Libya despite a ban on military exports to that country - a review that now has been expanded to include shipments to Sudan. (bit.ly/2c0SNj9)

** Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is now promising to extend a ban on politicians attending fundraising events to all candidates for provincial office - not just sitting members of provincial parliament (MPPs). It is the Liberals' second pledge in as many weeks to toughen up new rules on campaign finance, and comes as the Premier tries to regain control of the issue with pressure mounting from the opposition and experts to clean up the system. (bit.ly/2bUU4Ct)

** Quebec's securities watchdog says it has uncovered a sophisticated system of insider trading involving former Amaya Inc Chief Executive David Baazov, by which kickbacks were paid in exchange for stock tips on several impending takeovers. The deals stretch back six years - long before Amaya took over gambling behemoth PokerStars in 2014. (bit.ly/2bUR49f)

** The federal government says the cost to fix its new Phoenix payroll system has nearly doubled in the past two weeks, and will now ring in at C$45 million ($35 million) to C$50 million. The problem-plagued system has affected the pay of more than 80,000 public servants, forcing some to max out credit cards or borrow money to pay their bills after missing paychecks for months. (bit.ly/2c0rZgl)

NATIONAL POST

** Drilling activity in the oilfield has slowed to the point that 2016 will be the worst year on record for the oil and gas industry, the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors said on Wednesday in a revised activity forecast. The association's updated forecast for the fourth quarter of this year shows a 25 percent drop in new oil and gas wells drilled from its original forecast in November. (bit.ly/2cmQCVA) ($1 = C$1.29) (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru)